Environment development system and methods

ABSTRACT

The system and methods for environment development identifies an environment including a plurality of structures, administers participation of improvements to the structures, and evaluates the improvements to disperse awards. The system and methods is a contest offering an incentive to motivate a community to improve an environment through development.

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.60/902,712 filed Feb. 22, 2007.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the environment and morespecifically to an environment development contest system and methods.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Some studies have shown that environments with a fresh, vibrantappearance attract more social support and are viewed as environments ofchoice for individuals as to where they desire to live or do business.An environment includes internal and external conditions, resources, andarchitecture with which a community interacts. For example, anenvironment in which a community interacts may be an urban region, ruralregion, city, town, suburb, state, or even a neighborhood.

For purposes of this application, a community is defined as a group ofindividuals united by some common interest, for example, publicationssuch as books, magazines, journals, newspapers, or education, culture,entertainment, fraternity, club, faith, socioeconomic level, history,wealth, technology, employment, finance, and domicile to name a few.

Healthy and vibrant environments have similarities to living organismsthrough the need for ongoing nourishment, replenishment of energy andgrowth. Many environments lack the attributes of health and vibrancy;and many communities desire an environment with these attributes, butlack the motivation to initiate development. Motivation for a communityto develop an environment is optimally desired to improve the health andvibrancy of the environment. A system and methods for environmentdevelopment is needed. The present invention satisfies this demand.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a contest system and methods offering anincentive to motivate a community to improve an environment throughdevelopment. A contest is an event in which two or more participantscompete against each other for a prize or similar incentive.

Development includes revitalizing the environment by improvingstructures—such as architectural structures including residential,commercial or industrial—for various benefits. For example, benefitsinclude increasing property value, stabilizing the tax base, andimproving the quality of life of a community.

For purposes of this application, a structure includes both the internaland external aspects of the structure, and can be, for example, abuilding, house, apartment, condominium, townhouse, garage, pole barn,shed or other out building and may even include infrastructure such aslandscape, roads, streets, highways and bridges.

The contest system and methods identifies an environment including aplurality of structures, administers participation of improvements tothe structures, and evaluates the improvements to disperse awards. It iscontemplated that any or all of the contest method steps can beperformed by a general computer system.

A general computer system according to the present invention includes acentral processing unit (CPU), a read-only memory (ROM), a random accessmemory (RAM), and a memory hard disk, all interconnected by a systembus. The memory hard disk serves as a storage device and may furtherinclude a database.

An environment including one or more structures in need of improvementis identified. The environment may be of any size, for example, aneighborhood, subdivision, city, town, or suburb. According to thepresent invention, any number of structures within the environment iscontemplated. It is also contemplated that the structures may be similaras well as dissimilar. Along with identifying the environment includingstructures, costs associated with the contest may be determined, such asadministrative fees including postage, printing, copying, and stafftime, as well as contest requirements defined, such as participanteligibility, rules, duration and deadlines, or any other contemplatedcontest requirements.

Participation in improving the structures is administered. Improvementsinclude aesthetic and construction enhancements to the exterior of thestructures themselves, as well as the surrounding area, such aslandscape. Improvements may also include aesthetic and constructionenhancements to the interior of the structures. Administeringparticipation in improvements to the structures may also includeconducting marketing and soliciting potential participants. For purposesof this application, participants execute the improvements to thestructure and can be an individual or group of individuals within thecommunity. Further, a participant may or may not have an interest in thestructure to which they execute improvements.

Potential participants may be solicited by direct or indirect marketingsuch as visiting the participant, telemarketing, and distributingpromotional material including direct mail, email, letters, forms,cards, articles, flyers, posters, press releases, and signs, to name afew. Participants may either agree or be selected to enter the contest.It is also contemplated that participants may receive a door prize forentering the contest.

Administering participation in improvements to the structures may alsoinclude consulting participants. Consulting participants includesplanning the structure improvement effectively and economically, alongwith instructing participants to make significant and verifiableimprovements to the structure. Administering participation also includesenforcing the contest requirements, for example, participanteligibility, rules, duration and deadlines.

The contest requires evaluation of the structures. Evaluation includesreviewing the structure before improvements and assessing the structureafter the improvements. The structure is reviewed before improvements atone or more primary positions. Each primary position includes primaryparameters such as a first angle and a first distance with respect to abase point of the structure. For example, a first primary positionincludes primary parameters of 45 degrees for the first angle and 50feet for the first distance, each relative to a base point such as thefront door, a window, or a light fixture of the structure. The secondprimary position includes primary parameters of 180 degrees for thefirst angle and 70 feet for the first distance, again relative to thebase point.

The structure is assessed after improvements at one or more finalpositions. Each final position includes final parameters such as asecond angle and a second distance with respect to a base point of thestructure. Any primary and final parameter is contemplated, for example,color, height, square footage, or size. The primary position and finalposition may be documented in a record, such as a photograph, digitalimage or mental record.

The primary parameters of a primary position may correspond to the finalparameters of a final position. Each structure subject to the contest isevaluated by analyzing corresponding primary positions and finalpositions to compute a degree of improvement in terms of how much thestructure has changed. Analyzing the positions may be performed, forexample, by a panel of judges, computer software, or a combination ofboth. The computed degree of improvement translates to a score. Thescore may be a value within a defined range, scale, or dimension. Forexample, the score can be equal, less than or greater than a value on ascale, for example a numerical scale of 1 through 10, with 10 defined asthe highest score on the scale. It is contemplated that any method ofscoring may be used.

All scores from each of the structures identified in the contest arethen compared to assign a structure with a “win” status, otherwisereferred to herein as a winning structure. It is contemplated any numberof structures may be assigned a “win” status.

Awards are dispersed to the participants that executed the improvementsdepending upon the results of the evaluation. Awards include monetaryand non-monetary prizes. It is contemplated that the winning structureincluding participant may be announced, such as in a publication.Additionally, a ceremony may be conducted to disperse the awards. Theceremony may include food, drink and entertainment. Instead of aceremony, printed announcements may appear in newspapers, magazines,trade publications and/or reports, fraternal organization newsletters,websites and via electronic mail.

The contest system and methods may further include the step of assessingthe contest. Assessing the contest includes collecting information andgathering data. Collecting information includes, for example, allinformation related to the identification of an environment includingthe one or more structures, administration of the participation ofimprovements to the structures, or evaluation of the improvements.Gathering data may include surveying participants regarding, forexample, the amount of money spent, locations of where goods andservices were purchased, as well as any compliments or criticismsregarding the contest. The information and data may further be compiledinto a report. The report may summarize the contest and include alldetails.

In one embodiment, the memory of a computer stores the information anddata in a database. The database can be manipulated by commands to sort,prioritize, or process the information and data.

An object of the present invention is to promote and enhance environmentdevelopment. A contest system and methods offers an incentive tomotivate a community to improve an environment through development, suchas improving the appearance or construction of houses and thus, theenvironment as a whole.

Another object of the present invention is to create a healthy andvibrant environment.

Yet another object of the present invention is to create a stimulus forongoing health and vibrancy of the environment.

Another object of the present invention is to dramatically andimmediately improve the look of a structure, such as an architecturalstructure.

Another object of the present invention is to generate improvements tostructures beyond the normal course of market influences of trends andstyle.

Another object of the present invention is to increase market value ofan architectural structure or to the improvements to the architecturalstructure.

Another object of the present invention is to encourage purchasers ofreal estate to select a specific geographic area.

Another object of the present invention is to increase propertyownership opportunities.

Another object of the present invention is to improve the quality of allhousing. “Keeping up with the Joneses” —the desire to be seen as beingas good as one's neighbors—stimulates improvements. For example, oneneighbor maintains the landscape of his front yard in the hope thatpassersby judge the yard to be as nice as another neighbor's yard.

Another object of the present invention is to build and sustaincommunities.

Another object of the present invention is to build relationshipsbetween and within communities.

Another object of the present invention is to encourage communitystability and vitality.

Another object of the present invention is to stimulate the use oflending institutions, contractors, architects, engineers, hardwarestores and other building supply businesses.

The present invention and its attributes and advantages will be furtherunderstood and appreciated with reference to the detailed descriptionbelow of presently contemplated embodiments, taken in conjunction withthe accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the structure of a general computersystem according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of one embodiment of a method for environmentdevelopment according to the present invention; and

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of one embodiment of a method for evaluatingimprovements according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is an environment development contest system andmethods. It is contemplated that the present invention can beimplemented by any individual, group, entity or organization, termedherein as “sponsor”, such as municipalities, neighbor groups, businesscoalitions, publishing entities, real estate broker, foundations, andnon-profits, to name a few.

In the following, the present invention will be described with referenceto an environment that is a neighborhood of a city and structuresidentified as houses. However, the present invention contemplates a widerange of environments and structures.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the structure of a general computersystem 100 according to the present invention. The system 100 includes acentral processing unit (CPU) 102, a read-only memory (ROM) 104, arandom access memory (RAM) 106, and a memory hard disk 110, allinterconnected by a system bus 108. The memory hard disk 110 serves as astorage device and may further include a database 112.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of one embodiment of a method 200 for environmentdevelopment. At step 202, a neighborhood of a city including houses isidentified. The environment may be of any size, for example, aneighborhood, subdivision, city, town, or suburb. As mentioned above,structures include buildings, houses, apartments, condominiums,townhouses, garages, pole barns, sheds and other out buildings and mayeven include infrastructure such as landscape, roads, streets, highwaysand bridges. According to the present invention, any number ofstructures within the environment is contemplated. In this example, 13architectural structures in the form of houses are identified.

The step of identifying the environment may also include the step ofdetermining costs associated with the contest, such as administrativefees, including postage, printing, copying, and staff time. The step ofidentifying the environment may further include defining contestrequirements, such as participant eligibility, rules, duration anddeadlines, as well as any other contemplated contest requirements. Inthis example, contest requirements include a duration of six months toexecute and complete improvements to the structures, and participanteligibility requires the participant is over 18 years old and owns thestructure, although any contest requirements and participant eligibilityis contemplated.

At step 204, participation in improvements to the architecturalstructures is administered. Improvements include aesthetic andconstruction enhancements to the exterior of the architecturalstructures themselves, as well as the surrounding area such aslandscape. Improvements may also include aesthetic and constructionenhancements to the interior of the architectural structures.

The step of administering participation in improvements to thearchitectural structures includes conducting marketing and solicitingpotential participants. For example, potential participants aresolicited by distributing promotional material and agree to enter thecontest. As another example, potential participants are solicited by acomputer automated telemarketing system wherein telephone calls are madeto the potential participant. Participants that agree to enter thecontest receive a gift card to a local home improvement store.

Administering participation in improvements to the architecturalstructures also includes consulting participants. The sponsor assiststhe participant in planning the architectural structure improvementeffectively and economically, along with instructing participants tomake significant and verifiable improvements to the structure. It isalso contemplated the sponsor conveys computer generated plans ofimprovements to the structure. Administering participation also includesenforcing the contest requirements, for example, participanteligibility, rules, duration and deadlines.

The improvements are evaluated at step 206 as shown in FIG. 2.Evaluating the improvements includes determining impartial ratingstandards and utilizing those standards. As shown in FIG. 3, theevaluating step is based on a degree of improvement. As shown by themethod 300 of FIG. 3 for evaluating improvement, each house is reviewedat step 302. Each house is reviewed at one or more primary positionsbefore improvements. For example, a first primary position is 45 degreesand 50 feet from the front door of the house, and a second primaryposition is 180 degrees and 70 feet from a light fixture on the exteriorof the house.

The structure is assessed after improvements at one or more finalpositions at step 304. Each final parameter of the final positioncorresponds to the primary parameters of the primary position—a firstfinal position of 45 degrees and 50 feet from the front door of thehouse, and a second final position of 180 degrees and 70 feet from alight fixture on the exterior of the house.

Each house subject to the contest is evaluated in the samemanner—analyzing corresponding primary positions and final positions atstep 306 to compute a degree of improvement for each house at step 308.For example, a panel of judges analyzes the one or more primarypositions in the form of a digital image record with one or more finalpositions also in the form of a digital image record.

The computed degree of improvement translates to a score at step 310.The score is a value within a defined numerical scale of 1 through 10,with 10 defined as the highest score on the scale. A first house has ascore of 10, a second house has a score of 2 and the remaining 11 houseshave scores in between these values.

All scores from each of the structures identified in the contest arethen compared at step 312. At step 314, a status is assigned to one ormore houses. Here, the first house is assigned the “win” status, or isthe winning house.

After the improvements to the houses are evaluated at step 206 of FIG.2, a monetary award such as $500 is dispersed at step 208 to the winningparticipant that executed and completed improvements of the winninghouse. It is further contemplated a ceremony is conducted to dispersethe award. The ceremony may include food, drink and entertainment.Instead of a ceremony, printed announcements may appear in newspapers,magazines, trade publications and/or reports, fraternal organizationnewsletters, websites and via email.

The contest system and methods may further include the step of assessingthe contest. Assessing the contest includes collecting information andgathering data. Collecting information includes all information relatedto the identification of an environment including the one or morestructures, administration of the participation of improvements to thestructures, and evaluation of the improvements. Gathering data includessurveying participants regarding, for example, the amount of moneyspent, locations of where goods and services were purchased, as well asany compliments or criticisms regarding the contest. The memory harddisk of a computer stores the information and data in a database. Thedatabase can be manipulated by commands to sort, prioritize, or processthe information and data, for example, compiling the information anddata into a report that summarizes the contest and include all details.

While the disclosure is susceptible to various modifications andalternative forms, specific exemplary embodiments thereof have beenshown by way of example in the drawings and have herein been describedin detail. It should be understood, however, that there is no intent tolimit the disclosure to the particular embodiments disclosed, but on thecontrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, andalternatives falling within the scope of the disclosure as defined bythe appended claims.

1. An environment development contest method, comprising the steps of:identifying an environment including a plurality of structures;administering participation in improvements to the structures;evaluating the improvements to the structures; and dispersing awards. 2.The environment development contest method of claim 1 wherein theimprovements are aesthetic enhancements to the structures.
 3. Theenvironment development contest method of claim 1 wherein theimprovements are construction enhancements to the structures.
 4. Themethod of claim 1 wherein the improvements are aesthetic enhancements tothe area surrounding the structure.
 5. The environment developmentcontest method of claim 1 wherein said evaluating step further comprisesthe steps of: reviewing the structure at one or more primary positions;assessing the structure at one or more final positions; analyzing theone or more primary positions and the one or more final positions;calculating a degree of improvement from said analyzing step:translating the degree of improvement to a score; comparing all scoresof said translating step; and assigning a status.
 6. A contest methodfor motivating environment development, comprising the steps of:identifying one or more architectural structures in need of improvement;determining costs of the contest; defining requirements of the contest;soliciting one or more participants for entry in the contest; enteringthe one or more participants in the contest; consulting the one or moreparticipants; planning improvement to the one or more architecturalstructures; administering the improvement executed by the one or moreparticipants; enforcing the requirements of the contest; determining animpartial rating standard; evaluating the improvements to thearchitectural structures using the rating standard; choosing a winningstructure; and dispersing an award to the one or more participants thatexecuted the improvement to the architectural structure.
 7. The methodof motivating environment development of claim 6, further comprising thesteps of assessing the contest.
 8. The method of motivating environmentdevelopment of claim 7, wherein said assessing step further comprisesthe steps of: gathering data from one or more said steps; surveyingparticipants entered in the contest; and preparing a report from saidgathering step and said surveying step.
 9. The method of motivatingenvironment development of claim 6, wherein said announcing step furthercomprises the step of conducting a ceremony.
 10. A system of anenvironment development contest, comprising: a central processing unitto identify an environment including a plurality of structures,administer participation in improvements to the structures, evaluate theimprovements to the structures; and a memory to store information anddata pertaining to the environment development contest, wherein saidinformation and said data are stored in a database in said memory.
 11. Asystem of an environment development contest according to claim 10,wherein said central processing unit recognizes commands to manipulatesaid database.
 12. A system of an environment development contestaccording to claim 10, wherein said database is manipulated to compile areport.